Take The Long Way Home

Yesterday, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission released a draft plan sketching out changes in regional transportation through 2035. The draft is open for comments, and transportation intimately affects all of our lives, so be sure to take a look and tell the commission what you think (deadline: March 2).

The plan seems to prioritize public transit over car traffic, but just by a hair. The delicacy of the transit-car balance is political and, at least presently, fiscal: “[T]he lion’s share of transportation funding is derived from the federal and state excise taxes on gasoline, and if less fuel is purchased, fewer dollars are available for future improvements. Current levels of funding already fall short of our needs….New funding mechanisms will have to be developed.”

The project’s goals are structured around the Three E’s (cutesy, I know): Economy, Environment, and Equity.

But talk is cheap: Where does the money go? The two biggest chunks ($6-7 billion apiece) go to maintenance of roads and transit systems, respectively. (Officials hope to earn $6 billion from tolls, including congestion pricing.) $2.2 billion will go to transit-friendly growth, such as housing developments near transit hubs. About $1 billion each will go to information and ease-of-access services, such as 511 and TransLink, and for bike and pedestrian paths. Less than half a billion each will go to a 5-year Transportation Climate Action Campaign and to transportation for low-income communities.

Spending seems to be pretty evenly split between non-car and car traffic, which may be pragmatic but it ain’t visionary. If mass transit becomes truly easy and reliable, and extends its reach, everyone benefits. Why not put the bulk of the money towards that?